The cleaning compositions typically used nowadays for cleaning hard surfaces are generally aqueous preparations in the form of a stable solution or dispersion which contain surfactants, organic solvents and optionally complexing agents for the hardness constituents of water, abrasives and alkalis with a cleaning effect as their key active ingredients. Cleaning compositions intended above all for cleaning glass and ceramic surfaces are often formulated as solutions of the active ingredients in a mixture of water and water-miscible organic solvents, primarily lower alcohols and glycol ethers. Examples of such compositions can be found in DE-OS 22 20 540, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,389,234 and 3,882,038 and in European patent applications 344 847 and 393 772.
So far as their practical application is concerned, the cleaning compositions are expected to combine high cleaning performance with simple and convenient application. In most cases, the compositions are expected to develop the required effect after a single application, i.e. in the absence of further measures. Difficulties arise here--above all where the compositions are applied to smooth surfaces, particularly to reflective surfaces, such as glass or ceramic surfaces--out of the fact that compositions which have a favorable cleaning performance generally do not dry without leaving streaks while compositions which dry largely without any visible residues have only a limited cleaning effect. In order to combine an adequate cleaning effect, particularly against fatty soils, with acceptable residue behavior, relatively large quantities of more or less volatile alkalis have to be added to the cleaning compositions in addition to organic solvents. Ammonia and alkanolamines in particular have been used for this purpose. Unfortunately, relatively high concentrations of ammonia or amine--apart from the strong odors they emit--produce a corresponding increase in the pH value of the cleaning solution with the result that relatively sensitive surfaces, for example paint surfaces, are clearly attacked by these cleaning compositions.
In addition, smooth surfaces, particularly reflective surfaces, such as glass or ceramic surfaces, present two particular problems which generally do not come to light immediately after cleaning, but only at a later stage. The first problem is the well-known, but problematical phenomenon of the condensation of water onto the surfaces mentioned, for example in bathrooms during and after showering or bathing, which is referred to hereinafter as the film effect. The second problem is the phenomenon as well-known as it is unwelcome--although unavoidable in the long term--that, after the cleaning of a reflective surface exposed to the weather, such as window glass, a shower of rain destroys the cleaning result through the rain marks it leaves behind, which is referred to hereinafter as the rain effect.
Accordingly, there is still a need for cleaning compositions which have a high cleaning performance without any of the disadvantages mentioned above.
WO 96/04358 A1 (Procter & Gamble) describes cleaning compositions which are capable of cleaning glass without leaving behind any troublesome stains and/or films and which contain an effective quantity of a substantive polymer containing hydrophilic groups which provides the glass with relatively high and long-lasting hydrophilia, so that, the next three times at least the glass is wetted, for example by rain, the water drains from the glass surface and few stains are left behind after drying. Substantive polymers are, in particular, polycarboxylates, such as poly(vinyl pyrrolidone-co-acrylic acid), but also poly(styrene sulfonate), cationic sugar and starch derivatives and block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, the latter polyethers in particular having relatively little substantivity.